TGIF!

Happy Long weekend to those in the US! We usually don't go up to the lake for Memorial Day weekend as my MIL's birthday usually falls over the weekend. So this weekend won't look all that different than usual for us. Here's how my week shaped up!

The book I'm reading is This Tender land by William Kent Krueger. I am loving this book! The author is from Minnesota and the book is set in Minnesota so that is kind of fun for me. The topic is heavy as it's about 4 orphans who escape an orphanage and float down the river together. The writing is beautiful and there's a good mix of plot and character development. I think it will be a 5-star read. 

The high of my week was celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on Tuesday! I took the day off and Phil worked until 10:30. It was my first true day off since February so it was much-needed. We went to a local state park and did a hike that was a little over 5 miles. I use the word "hike" loosely because we do not have true hiking trails here in Minnesota since we don't have mountains in Minnesota. There were lots of rolling hills, though, so it was still a challenging "hike" at times. Everything was really green and beautiful and it felt so good to be out in the woods. There were very few people on the trails so it was the perfect social distancing activity! Phil and I both love being active and being outdoors so this was the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.

The low of my week was getting 2 flares - first in the middle finger of my left hand, then the middle finger of my right hand. I'm trying to avoid going into clinics unless absolutely necessary so I've been treating this flare with an anti-inflammatory cream instead of getting a steroid injection like I normally would. The cream fixed the flare in the left hand so hopefully it does the trick on the right soon. I'm pretty much giving RA the middle finger this week! I've been stressed about work stuff and laying awake at night thinking about work so I am sure that was a contributing factor to getting this flare. Why is it so hard to shut your brain off in the middle of the night???

A recipe I made was Asian Shrimp Noodle Bowls. I add a colored pepper when making this to get some extra veggies in. We also use a pound of shrimp instead of 1/2 pound and I cut back on the tamari as a 1/2 c. is so much! It's a really good meal!

A show I watched was Top Chef. My friend Alli generously gave me her cable login so I could watch it online. Top Chef is probably one of my all-time favorite shows so it's been nice to watch it instead of having to wait over a year for episodes to post on Hulu. I haven't had cable since 2016 and the only time I miss having it is when Top Chef is on so it's nice to have this workaround!

The best money spent was on a latte at Starbucks. I had a painful project to work on Wednesday morning so decided to treat myself to a latte that morning so I could sip it while working on something I knew I wasn't going to enjoy!

My plans this weekend include buying plants/seeds for my garden and hanging pots for our front steps and then planting my garden. I could have done it sooner as it's been pretty warm lately but I wanted to wait until I was absolutely sure we were done with freezing overnight temps. I am planting less this year as keeping up with a garden, work and a toddler is a lot! But I'm going to plant some lettuce, tomatillos, lots of pepper plants, and some green beans. We are also going out to my MIL's on Saturday after Paul's nap to celebrate her birthday, assuming the weather forecast looks ok. We will mostly stay outside and keep apart from each other. We'll get take out for dinner and I think I will bring some sort of sweet treat out. 

Bonus Paul photos!

During bath time, he loves to line up his toys and brush their teeth while singing part of the song I sing to him when I brush his teeth. It's pretty darn cute!

We got this hand-me-down chair from friends of our and he loves sitting in it and rocking! He's also wearing a hand-me-down shirt from these same friends. We've been on the receiving end of lots of hand-me-downs from this family as Paul is 5 weeks younger than their youngest son, and is smaller, so he's never in the same size as their youngest. It's worked out really well!

How was your week? What was your high of the week?